Quinoa, Quilts and Daniel Craig!

Welcome friends to Natasha in Oz. Thanks so much for visiting me in my little corner of the world Down Under!

As I quietly enjoyed a nice hot cup of Queen Anne tea this morning, I kept looking for inspiration for things to include in today's "Q" post? 

Should I share Martha Stewart's recipe for Quiche perhaps? 

I could google "words beginning with Q" on my Qwerty-keyboard laptop.

Maybe I should have some Quaker oats for breakfast.....

....and then go back to bed and hide under a quilt!

 

Images from John Lewis

Hang on...why have oats for breakfast when I can have a delicious bowl of quinoa?

Quinoa (pronounced Keen-wah) has been cultivated in South American Andes since at least 3,000 BCE. The ancient Incas called quinoa the "mother grain" and revered it as sacred. Each year at planting time it was traditional for the Inca leader to plant the first quinoa seed using a solid gold shovel!  Quinoa was of great nutritional importance in pre-Columbian Andean civilizations, being secondary only to the potato, and was followed in importance by maize.

The quinoa seed is high in protein, calcium and iron, a relatively good source of vitamin E and several of the B vitamins.  The protein it supplies is complete protein, meaning that it includes all nine essential amino acids. In addition to protein, quinoa features a host of other health-building nutrients. Quinoa is a very good source of magnesium, iron, copper and phosphorus making it a rather  valuable for people who suffer from migraines, diabetes and atherosclerosis. (Source)

Question? How does one make Breakfast quinoa?

2/3 cup quinoa

1 1/3 c. water
1 1/3 c. apple juice

1/2 c. raisins
1/4 c. dried cranberries

2 T. lemon juice, freshly squeezed

1/4 c. maple syrup
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. vanilla extract (Queen brand is best!)

1 T. chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

 First rinse the quinoa under running cold water. Drain it thoroughly, place it in a 

medium saucepan with the water. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and 

simmer for about 15 minutes or until the water is absorbed.

Add apple juice, raisins and cranberries, lemon juice, maple syrup, cinnamon and salt. 

Cover and simmer an additional 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. 

Serve warm with a splash of milk and the optional chopped nuts. 

This isn't the quickest recipe so I might have a game of quoits while I wait for it to cook!

Source

I am ready to quit writing this post now, but not before I have shared a clip of the trailer for Quantum of Solace. I am sure there will be no quibbles when I say Daniel Craig is the quintessential 007.

Thanks for visiting today and, just quietly,

you,

my friends,

are the very quintessence of lovely!

Best wishes,

Natasha In Oz 

Do not shorten the morning by getting up late; look upon it as the quintessence of life, and to a certain extent sacred. 
Arthur Schopenhauer